Imagine teaching science without equipment and materials to do lab or other hands-on activities. Imagine your science classroom not having electricity, let alone Internet access. What types of active science lessons are possible?
This site is dedicated to providing lesson plans for a variety of active, hands-on that any teacher can use! Let's be sure EVERY student, no matter their circumstances, can learn science by doing some science!
Many schools do not have access to all the equipment needed to build their own simple resistor circuits, or the means of measuring resistance, current, and/or voltage. This lab provides actual data collected by students doing the experiment outlined in the provided video. There is a second option using a computer simulation for those classes that have Internet access - students can do a simulated experiment and collect data to do the analysis set of questions.
Ohm's law is an essential piece of understanding how the most basic circuits work, and the relationship between the 'Big 3' of all circuits: voltage, resistance, and the resulting electric current.
Punnett squares are useful 'tools' used when studying genetics. The squares allow us to think about the types of genes from the parents for a particular trait - such as eye color, hair color, straight or curly hair, the size and shape of ears - and then determine the probabilities of the offspring inheriting one of those traits. This lesson is useful for students and teachers to determine probabilities and learning how to interpret the results. This is a good lesson for showing a relatively rare use of math in a biology class, as well.
To many, science is the process of discovery and trying to find the 'facts' of how the world works. It is supposed to be unbiased, nonpartisan, and pure. But don't ever forget that science is done and practiced by human beings, all of whom are imperfect, have biases, and make mistakes, just like everyone else. We are not 'all knowing' and have all the answers, and we never will.
Having said this, what is the real story for how scientists go about their work? How do we know whether or not to believe a scientific claim by others? How and why should we evaluate others' work to justify their conclusions, especially when it is something important in the field or something never seen or claimed by anyone before?
Check out this nice piece, from Symmetry magazine (this is very good if you like particle physics), which uses examples from particle physics to demonstrate how science is actually a little messy, but most importantly human - and 'facts' in science do change! Scientists are willing to change their minds over time as new results, often the result of new technologies and methods and data sets, because discovering real truth is a long, difficult process. There always is and should be debate and skepticism, but also open minds that are willing to accept new results that contradict old ones. There needs to be an open process or peer reviewed publications and presentations at conferences, so other experts can review a colleague's work openly and completely to check for mistakes or misinterpretations of the data. This is why it takes time to do science the 'right way.'
There is a stereotype in many places and among different groups of people that subjects and professions in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are dry, regimented, rigid, and for geeks and nerds. There is often a sense there is a lack of emotion, and humanity, in these types of studies and professions.
But unless you are actually involved and participating in STEM areas, it can be difficult to understand the excitement and true passion we have for our areas of interest. And what's more, while it is the job of politicians and others to develop and vote on policies that affect our lives, and also to address the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) over the next decade, we all must realize and understand that STEM will help provide the solutions to those SDGs, and help make the world better for the next generation of humanity!
Some of the qualities, concerns, and passions of STEM professionals is beautifully addressed by Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, a former teacher and NASA astronaut, who now spends her days addressing sustainability issues around the world because of her science background. The goals, concerns and personal characteristics of an astronaut are precisely those that we need to tackle the world's most pressing issues. The talents and skills of STEM workers, along with a love for humanity, is the combination that will move the world forward for all of us! This is another way of thinking about the importance of our SEE SAW project, and to encourage and grow the STEM talents in all nations...it is in part to help save our world! By the way, this project is in honor of SDGs #4, 9, 10, and 17, primarily, but again, there is overlap with just about all the SDGs; in honor of our one human race!!
This video is the first in an upcoming series put out by our friends at the SOS4Love Project!
